Conference Coverage

Psoriatic Arthritis Drug Candidate Sonelokimab Yields Significant Improvements in Phase 2 Trial


 

TOPLINE:

Treatment of patients with active psoriatic arthritis with sonelokimab — an interleukin (IL)-17A- and IL-17F-inhibiting nanobody — led to a higher percentage of patients with 50% or greater improvement in American College of Rheumatology response criteria (ACR50) compared with the placebo in a phase 2 trial.

METHODOLOGY:

  • Sonelokimab is a 40-kDa nanobody that binds to IL-17A, IL-17F, and albumin.
  • Eligible patients were at least 18 years old with active PsA (at least three swollen and three tender joints) and had a psoriasis diagnosis.
  • A total of 207 patients were randomized 1:1:1:1 to every 4 weeks receive placebo, sonelokimab 60 mg with no induction (NI) period, sonelokimab 60 mg with induction, and sonelokimab 120 mg with induction.
  • Induction was once every 2 weeks up to week 8 of the trial.
  • The primary endpoint was meeting ACR20 response criteria at 12 weeks.

TAKEAWAY:

  • About 46% of patients in the sonelokimab 120-mg and 60-mg groups achieved ACR50, compared with 36.6% in the sonelokimab 60-mg NI group and 20% of those assigned to placebo.
  • ACR20 and 90% or greater reduction in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score response rates were higher in all three sonelokimab groups than in the placebo group.
  • There were no unexpected safety findings during the trial, and no cases of inflammatory bowel disease or major cardiovascular events.
  • There were two cases of oral candidiasis, which did not lead to study discontinuation.

IN PRACTICE:

These data “support further exploration in phase 3 trials of sonelokimab to evaluate its potential for the treatment of PsA,” the authors noted in the presentation.

SOURCE:

Iain B. McInnes, MD, PhD, of the University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, presented these phase 2 trial results at the European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) 2024 Annual Congress, held in Vienna.

LIMITATIONS:

The results are from a phase 2 trial, and more research is needed.

DISCLOSURES:

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics funded the research. Dr. McInnes disclosed relationships with AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Causeway Therapeutics, Cabaletta Bio, Compugen, Evelo, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Eli Lilly, Novartis, MoonLake Immunotherapeutics, Pfizer, Sanofi Regeneron, and UCB. Other authors also disclosed many relationships with pharmaceutical companies.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.

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